Living with Light
by Comancee
Summary: After a tragic event, Hope goes to live with the woman he loves.


So, hello all! First story… I was very compelled to write this after it came up in my head during vacation. I knew I had to write it, so here it is. Post-game, may be AU now that FFXIII-2 is out there…

And I don't know how to get bloody line breaks or lines in the story... so if it looks off because of that, sorry. It was just quick clean up. Gr.

Feel free to say whatever, I don't really care. I don't think I put very much dialog as I would've wished, as I'm really not confident in that area of my writing. Oh, yes, it was rushed. Sorry, but thats the writer I am, may or may not change.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or any related things.

Today would be like nothing Hope expected. Really, it started as a normal day; he woke up, brushed his teeth and ate breakfast with his father, Bartholomew Estheim. They lived in New Palumpolum, a near resurrection of the old one. Life was fine for them. It was 5 years after the "fall" of Cocoon, and Hope was 19. But what was to come later was something all too different.

"Good morning, dad." Hope said as he woke to his father cooking breakfast. He had decided to wear his normal clothes, ones similar to his journey before the fall of Cocoon, they had been resized. "Good morning, son. How did you sleep?" asked Bartholomew. "Fine. Say, do you think I could go to Light's house in a couple of weeks? Just to get out of the house for a while." Bartholomew's interest peaked when Hope mentioned Lightning. He chuckled at his son. "Hope, you're not a kid anymore, you may do what you please. I do want to tell you though, be careful of-"

Hope cut him off. "Yeah dad, whatever. You know me; I've been through all this before. I'm a combat-ready man." Again, Bartholomew chuckled. "No son, I meant of Lightning. You don't play your cards right and you'll be in a world of hurt, and I mean literally. However… I know you love her and you will be just fine, so take it however you want." Hope returned his father's smile. It was all true. "Thanks dad." He left the room and called Light to tell her he would be coming in two weeks and made sure she'd be available. She said yes.

After breakfast, Hope and his father left for their separate jobs. Hope was in college now, and worked hard for his fantastic grades. Since he was recognized for saving Cocoon, he was on a loose schedule; classes were difficult but not over-bearing. He was great in engineering and the sorts.

After Hope's father dropped him off at college, Bartholomew flew off and when he was about to turn out of sight, another velocycle ran into his and he crashed, _hard._ Hope could only watch as there would be no survival for his father. The vehicle just dropped from the sky in a ball of fire. Hope ran over to the wreckage and tried to see what he could do, but there was no hope. His dad had been incinerated or crushed in the crash, and his body could not be fetched. Hope didn't know what to do, and he certainly didn't want to face the death of the last of his family. So after a few minutes of kneeling beside the wreck and sobbing, he decided to just walk away, and think about life. He had decided to go to the person he knew would never fail him, who he would always rely on for anything – Lightning Farron.

Lightning had gone back to the Guardian Corps as they were now in need of soldiers for repulsing the Pulse monsters. The flux of Pulse monsters was one she had fought before and saw it best to help by offering herself. With her knowledge of the wildlife and other achievements, she was promoted to Lieutenant and given an upgraded gunblade. She resided in New Bodhum, also on its way to a beautiful restoration of the one on Cocoon. Lightning wasn't too busy, with loads enemy intelligence, she mainly debriefed and led small squadrons to take out little oppositions. She got lonely and restless at times, but there were things that filled her time up quite nicely.

Serah had moved out a month before she got married to get used to living with Snow. Lightning had missed Serah's presence in the household. That was until Hope had showed up at the wedding and stayed with Lightning the night after. They had talked for hours on end, about what they had been doing and what they looked forward to. When Hope had gotten up and made to say goodbyes, he knew he would see Lightning as much as possible to talk with her and mingle.

Lightning and Hope had gotten used to each other's presence; Lightning always seemed happier with him around. Hope sometimes visited her, she sometimes visited him. On average, the breaks in between were monthly, with some longer due to school and the GC. Every time they grew closer, until the line of friendship smeared and Hope made the first move with a kiss. That was 2 months ago, when Hope had last seen Lightning.

Hope now walked the distance from New Palumpolum to New Bodhum. His thoughts wandered to Lightning to subdue feelings about the death of his father. The journey was 4 days on foot. Hope was no amateur to long journeys. He had saved Cocoon and practiced by himself on occasion so he wouldn't get rusty. Amongst some of the times he spent with Light, he learned to use a gunblade. He had enjoyed himself then, just him and Lightning, spending private moments together.

-Some time ago…

"Hey Lightning, do you think you could finally teach me how to use a gunblade?" Hope had asked. "Hmm… I dunno, do you think you can handle it now? I mean it has only been 3 years… Actually, now that I think of it, you have grown, haven't you Hope?" Lightning commented, finally taking notice to his growth. "Well, fine. I'll let you use my old gunblade and we'll practice tomorrow. Better get a goodnight's sleep in, you'll need it." She said with a smirk as she walked away to go to bed.

- The next day -

"Hope, your form is weak, toughen up and stand strong." Lightning said with a stern look. She had worked him all day, and even though she found it hard to admit, he was a quick learner and easily came up to her pace. Yet her experience let her have the upper hand. "Light… is it finally break time? I'm thirsty as heck." Hope said, sitting down on a fallen tree in the woods, his clothes drenched in sweat. Lightning enjoyed seeing him so worked and soft."Make it quick, don't think I'll let you get off that easy." Even though her words were tough, she smiled. Hope caught it and felt a flicker in his heart.

-Present day

When Hope made it to New Bodhum in 4 days, he had nearly forgotten why he traveled all that way. Shouldn't he have been there with his dad? He just didn't want to face reality. He felt even foolish to run from reality. Walking away was probably the wrong answer… but he wanted to see Lightning to bring comfort to his heart.

When Hope approached Lightning's house, it was near midnight. He knew she would still be up, or about to sleep because she was a light sleeper. He came up to the door and nearly a second after the second knock, she opened the door. Light stood there, in a violet tank top and olive green slacks. She put on the softest expression on her face when she saw it was Hope. Before she could do anything, Hope embraced her. It was an easy hug as Hope was now as tall as Light.

"Hope… I didn't think you'd be here for another week or so. Did something happen?" Lightning whispered as she closed the door. She ruffled his fair for good measure. "I just couldn't wait I gg-guess." Hope had tried to keep a stoic voice, but at the end he cracked. Lightning instantly noticed something was wrong. "Surely your dad wanted to hold you a little longer, and don't you have school?" Lightning remarked.

"H-he-he… He's dead. He died last week in a crash… I didn't want to deal with it so I ran. I kn-know it probably wasn't the right thing to do, but please Light… Let me stay with you tonight." Hope commented, on the edge of tears. He just couldn't be as stern and stoic as Lightning. "I knew that it would seem better if I came to you, I h-hope that's alright."

Lightning had a slight smile, noticing they were still hugging when she said "its okay Hope, you're always welcome here. Now get some rest and we'll talk tomorrow." Lightning pulled back and gave him the biggest smile she could muster and sent him to bed. Hope knew he would feel a little better after the warmth in the smile she gave him and headed for the guest room where he had slept so many times before.

In the morning, around 4:30 am, Lightning awoke at the sound of her back door to her balcony opening and closing. She opened her door and saw through the glass door that Hope stood there, his arms crossed on the railing, in nothing but his shorts, watching the sun rise. _He sure is handsome… _She walked over and opened and closed the door without a word. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his torso. Hope seemed surprised for a second, but eventually calmed to the warmth of Lightning's arms. She rested her chin on his shoulder.

"You know its okay to feel sad. It's better to get it out than bottle it up. Don't forget I'm here if you need me Hope." Lightning said as she moved to rest her cheek on his back. Hope started to sob quietly and they just stood there as he let it out. About 10 minutes later, Hope had stopped and Lightning was still awake. "Light… thank you." Hope said as he dropped his head down. "Hope, if you want, you can sleep in my bed with me if you want. Maybe it'll help you sleep a little better." Lightning had remarked as she turned him around. Hope looked adorable to Lightning. She couldn't stop her feelings anymore and before she knew it she kissed him. She knew she had a thing for Hope, and just didn't know how to what it was or how to express it. After a moment he kissed back and it turned into what seemed like an endless kiss that only lasted a few seconds in reality.

They broke the kiss and Hope said "I'd like that." With a smile on his face. She led him into the house and into her room. This time Hope kissed her as he wrapped his now masculine arms around her waist, and she gave no resistance. "I love you, Light." He said in the end of the kiss. "Yeah yeah… now let us go to sleep." She tried to hide her red cheeks with a quick turn, but Hope still noticed and knew that she returned it, just in her own way. _That's Light for you_. They both got under the covers and soon became close to each other, their body heats putting each other to sleep.

-Finish

Well, I dunno what to say. Hope there isn't too much wrong. Didn't feel like I needed another read-over from some one else, as I didn't want to wait to get this out. Hope this addition to the Hope x Light is a worth one! Read and Review please. If you could sign in as well, it would be appreciated so I could reply to you. However, it is not required.

And you know… Involuntarily I think I made the first kiss like FFX's Yuna and Tidus…. Just gender switched. Heheh, Don't own that either!


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